Definition: The act of tricking your brain into productivity by committing only to the absolute first micro-step of a task. Like lacing up running shoes solely to stand on your porch, or opening a laptop just to stare at the blank document. The goal isn’t completion—it’s crossing the initial psychological barrier.
Once you’ve “thresholded,” momentum often drags you into the actual activity because starting felt painless. It weaponizes the guilt of backing out after that minimal effort, making full engagement feel like the path of least resistance—even if you swore you’d just sniff the outside air.
(Inspired by: “just putting on clothes and stepping outside to form that habit”)
Example:
She thresholded by simply putting on her running shoes; feeling silly standing there, she guilted herself into a quick jog around the block.
He opened the spreadsheet intending only to name the file; seeing the empty cells, momentum pulled him into filling the first row easily.